Henry b



H. B. VAN BENTHUYSEN."

Magazine Stove. x.

Patented Feb. I, 1870' NJ'ETERS. PHOTO'LJTFOGR WASHINGTON. D. C.

that swat aunt dtfifiitc.

HENRY B. VAN BENTHUYSEN, OF LOOKHAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 99,375, dated February 1, 1870.

the annexed drawings, making a part of this specifiand relation of the several parts.

Figure '2 is a vertical section, central from side to side, showing in this direction also the arrangement and relation of the various parts.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the conical or convex rotating and alternating grate, showing the cogs and lever by which it is operated.

*Figure 4 is a segment of the corrugated and perforated inner ring ofthe fire-chamber.

Figure 5 is a transverse section, taken at x, to show the lid of the magazine, when closed and when open.

Figure 6 is a transverse section, at z, to show the flange around the magazine, the cogs and adjustable lever, by which a rotating and alternating motion is communicated to the magazine.

Figure 7 is a transverse section of the magazine, showing the staves and the tubes formed by the overlapping joints, and also the lugs and pins, by which the parts are held together.

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical section of one side of the magazine, showing more clearly its construction, and the arrangement of the several parts.

Figure 9 is the plate on which the fire-pot rests, showing the air-passages, for the free admission of air between the inner and outer rings composing the fire-chamber.

The object of my invention is to improve and render more complete the base-burning stove, for which a patent was allowed me, hearing date December 15, 1868, No. 84,920.

That stove was in some respects defective,

First, in that the exit-flue was near the top of the stove, and the results of combustion rising directly from the fire-chamber, were allowed to escape too quickly, so that the proper amount of heat was not radiated laterally, nor was there a sutficient propor-- tion radiated downward toward the floor, where the heatis most needed. In order to remedy this defect and give the stove the highest degree of efficiency in heating-power, and the economy of fuel, I place the exit-flue below the fire-chamber, enlarge the outer casing surrounding the fire-chamber, and cause the current to pass downward, and to the rear, and upward through the exit-fine, while the radiation from the fire heats the upper portion of the stove, as bet'ore; the lowest portion is also heated, which adds much to the-comfort of those using it, and producing a healthful and an agreeable eii'ect. I make also an exitline above the fire-chamber, to be used on kindling lire, to enable the smoke to escape readily by a direct course to the chimney. This line is provided with a tight damper, which must be kept closed after the fuel has become fairly ignited.

Second, the exit-flue being near the top, a portion of gas and smoke had a tendency to escape into the room when the cover of the stove was removed for the purpose of replenishing the fire. Placing the exit-flue near the base, and materially reducing the size of the. openings in the diaphragm plate, causes the draught to be reversed on removing the top cover, especially if the damper to the ash-pit be closed, and the direct draught-damper opened, the air rushing in at the top, carries down all smoke and gas which would otherwise naturally arise.

Third, the supplying funnel, entering the top of the magazine, was somewhat objectionable in its construction, and became more so by changing the exit-flue, as the volatile carbon and gas retained inthe upper portion of the magazine could not readily escape downward over the outside toward the exit-flue when the magazine lid was removed. In order to make the stove more complete in this respect, I shorten the supply-funnel so as to leave "an open space between the magazine and funnel.

' Fourth, where the magazine or supplying-cylinder is constructed, as it should be, on the principle of a receiver, open only at the bottom, and tight in every other respect, so that the volatile carbon and hydrogen generated by heating the coal in the lower part of the magazine next the fire, cannot escape otherwise'than by passing down into the fire, where it will be consumed; there is, in such a magazine, especially when the coal has settled somewhat, and be-- come more compact near the base, a certain degree of pressure of the inflammable gas,.which, in its efiort to escape, becomes ignited, causing a flash or slight explosion, not serious, but rather offensive, especially to a sensitive and nervous person. To remedy this defect, I construct the magazine with vertical tubes G G, (seefig. 8,) open at the bottom externally to the fire surface, and at the top internally by a series of small openings, SS, to .allovwthe gas a free passage to the fire, and thereby prevent the compression necessary to force it through the compact body of coal in the base of the magazine, and thus render the stove non-explosive.

I Fifth, the melting together or coking of bituminous coal is a serious-hindrance to its free use in a magazine-stove, and in no other practicable stove yet known can so nearly a perfect combustion beproduced. And inasmuch as the inhabitants over a large portion of the States are compelled to use'this coal for fuel, for want of a better article, and many others will use it because of its cheapness, it becomes amatter of great importance to' have a mechanical contrivance or device which will remove most of the objections, and render its use as agreeable as possible. To this end I invented the-rotating magazine, and the spear-like device on the rotating grate, but this latter device being necessarily made of a destructible material, was found not to be reliable, and in lieu of this I place a wedge-sbaped piece, either fixed or movable, at the rear of the stove, so as to project upward just inside of the magazine, to loosen the adhering coke, when the cylinder is revolved, and allow it to descend freely into the fire-chamber; and this, in combination with the ribs inside the fire-chamber, and the convex grate, most effectually break up the coke, and render it manageable without opening the stove door orcover, as with the common stove, and stirring with a poker while a cloud of soot and sulphurous gas is escaping into the room and poisoning the atmosphere and befouling the furniture.

Sixth, it is advantageous to rotate the magazine to the left as well as to the right, and also to give it an alternating motion. For this purpose I use simply a cog-wheel or flange, surrounding the magazine, and an adjustable or sliding lever, the point of which operates upon the cogs at will.

Seventh, it is also important to be able to rotate the conical or convex grate to the right or left, or give it an alternating motion, as occasion may require. This is done by poising the grate on a pin centrally located, and operating upon the cogs underneath its periphery,- by a curved adjustable lever, which may be put in and out of gear at will. This facilitates also the removal of ashes, slate, and cinders from be-' neath the fire to the ash-pit, without disturbing the the, or causing the unburnt coal to pass through, and obviates any necessity of dumping the grate.

Eighth, a stove of this character should be so constructed that all parts of the base can be tightly closed while the grate is being disturbed or agitated, in order that no dust may escape into the room. I prevent this by putting the grate-lever, and all other levers, through closely-fitting holes in sliding plates, which form a portion of the outer casing,'and rotate the grate with the draught, register, and ash-pit door closed.

Ninth, owing to the intense heat generated by coal when perfectly burned, if it be burned directly in contact with the outer casing, or indirectly by the intervention of fire-brick or iron lining, the casing would be heated to redness in the region of the tire, the joints opened, the plates cracked by the unequal expansion, and the stove injured and rendered unsightly. To avoid this, I construct the fire-chamber of two rings, with a free circulation of air between them, and place them upon a plate over the ash-pit, independent of theontcr casing, so that its increased expansion will not affect or injure the casing.

Tenth. Both for cleanliness and convenience, it is of some consideration toopen the magazine without lifting the lid through the funnel. 'This is accomplished with a jointed lever-rod attached to the edge of the lid, which raises it from its seat, and places it upon the brackets attached to the casing. 'lhe lid must be so constructed that it will fit closely and retain its seat while the magazine is in motion.

Eleventh. The lower portion of the magazine being constantly in contact with the fire, it will be worn out or destroyed before the other portions of the stove. The same may be said of the inner ring of the firechamber. For this reason these parts should be so constructed that they can be easily removed, and re placed by new pieces, without detriment to the rest of .the stove. To secure this end, I construct the lower portion of the magazine of stares, which are tightly jointed and held together by lugs and keys,v

and joined to the upper portion by a circular tongue and groove. Thejnner ring of the fire-chamber is also composed of staves, which are heldin place by "the cap-piece, which can be easily raised, and the ring renewed through the door, at the same time the magazine is being renewed, so that any ordinary person can procure the proper castings, and replace the worn parts simply by the aid of hammer and screwdriver.

One great advantage to be-derived from this invention is, that a class of, fuel hitherto discarded and wasted, can be used with the same beneficial results as a valuable article considered merchantable. I refer to what is denominated slack or screenings, which I have observed in some parts of the country are thrown away in large quantities as worthless, and in some other places the same article can be had on the cars for the cost of the freight, which relieves the mine-agent from, the trouble and expense of depositing the worthless stuff on some unoccupied ground.

I will now proceed to specify and describe more particularly, by reference to the drawings, the devices by which I propose to accomplish the useful purposes I have enumerated. K

A is the internal rotating and alternating cylinder or magazine for the reception of coal.

B is the external casing, which may be made of any suitable. and particular design or shape, surrounding the magazine and fire-chamber, and enclosing a space for the passage of the results of combustion.

The magazine A is made in several parts or sections, conical in shape, so as to allow the bituminous coal to descend freely into the fire-chamber G.

The upper portion of the magazine, as shown in fig. 8, is a solid cylinder, to which is attached, by means of a tongue and groove, the vertical sections or stares, (four, more or less,) as-sceu in fig. 7. These stares are'cast separately, with overlapping joints, which, when brought together, form the tubes G. And these several sections or staves are held together by the lugs and pins N N, and form the lower portion of the magazine.

I suspend the magazine by an encircling flange, D, resting on friction-rollers, at (I, placed in the "diaphragm plate E, which is secured to the outer casing.

The encircling flange I) has its periphery formed into cogs I3. of uniform size, which are operated on by the point of the sliding-lever H, or other equivalent device, whereby the magazine is caused to rotate to the right or left, or made to alternate, as may he desired, to break up the coke formed in its base. And to further aid in securing this feature, the wedge or horn-shaped device 0, which I denominate the cokebreaker, is so fixed as to project upward insidethe base'of the magazine, or attached to the lever I, by which it may be thrust upward to loosen the coke, or

dropped between the outer and inner ring of the firechamber, to preserveit from injury or destruction by the heat, so that, at pleasure, the adhering coke may be freed from the inside of the magazine.

he fire or combustion-chamber G is composed of an external ring or truncated cone, R, and an inner ring, K, composed of heavy segments or staves, corrugated and perforated, so that the air may prevent overheating, and preserve them from speedy destruction. These rings rest on the plate shown in fig. S), which has a circular opening for the grate, and a series of openings, P P, for the free admission of air, and are all held in their relative positions by the ribs on the bottom plate and the cap-piece Q, which has ribs on its under side, and is held down by movable lugs screwed to the outer casing.

Beneath the fire-chamber I suspend a conical or convex grate, M, in such a manner that it will rotate freely right or left, or alternate, by means of the cogs f, under its periphery, and the adjustable lever h so constructed that it will mesh with the cogs at will.

The grate M is formed with a ring, having two or more cross-bars, and four or more V-bars projecting inward from the ring and'elevated above the crossbars, forming an uneven surface, which elfectually breaks up the slate and cinders, and causes them to pass through the grate.

The magazine-lid WV is a circular concave plate, with an ear at one side, to which the rod Y is hinged. This rod passes through the outer casing (which answers for a fulcrum) to the knob U.

The brackets T T are secured to the outer casing, extending nearly to and on a level with the magazine. By pressingon the knob the lid will beraised from its seat, and can be drawn on to the brackets, where it will rest while the magazine is being replenished.

The funnel V is secured to the .top plate, and the opening closed by an ornamental cover. The lower end is contracted to a smallersize than the magazine top, and terminates a short space above it, and is so arranged that the fuel will pass directly into the magazine when the lid/is removed.

The encircling flange or cogged rim 1) around the magazine is made separate, and secured to its place by bolts or rivets.

The friction-rollers d d may be made of any suitable size and form, and as many used, both vertically and horizontally, as will best relieve the magazine from friction.

The pointed lever H has an open slot, which gives it'free motion on the fulcrum-pin, allowing the lever to be withdrawn from the cogs and moved to the right or left, and inserted between other cogs, when the magazine will move in the opposite direction from which the hand is moved, thus giving it a rotary or alternating motion, as may be most needed at the time.

My stove is constructed for heating-purposes, and

is adapted to parlors, chambers, stores, and other places requiring artificial heat; and, by an alteration of the outer casing, it is well adapted for a basement or cellar-thrnace, when surrounded with a metallic or brick enclosure.

Althougl'i I use a grate somewhat larger in diameter than the base of the magazine, it is not for the purpose of deriving any benefit by the coal falling out laterally into thin layers and assuming a conical shape to the base of the magazine, ,aposition that could not be assumed by masses of coke from bituminous coal when half burned, as it is when it leaves the base of the magazine. Nor is the plan 1 refer to consistent with the laws of perfect combustion, even with anthracite coal, as can be clearly shown. Moreover,

' the proportionate difference between my grate and magazine base is not suflicient for-any such purpose. It is absolutely necessary that the top of the firechamber should .be larger than the base of the magazine, sufficiently so to allow a free passage for the caloric and carbonic acid, the results of combustion to pass from beneath the magazine' This space can be obtained by using a grate even smaller than the magazine base, provided the internal ring of the fire-chamber is made in the form of a truncated cone inverted. But this is not the true form of a fire-chamber, for

- the reason that ashes will lodge on thesloping sides,

and hinder radiation and combustion, and collect into cindeis.

My objectiisftohave the base of the fire-chamber allow the ashes around the sides to descend freely to the grate, and thence to the ash-pit.

Furthermore, the fire-chamber I use is entirely too deep for burning coal in thin layers. Whereas, the layer coal must be of a considerable depth to insure its complete combustion; otherwise, halt'burned pieces of coal will die out and pass through the grate with the refuse matter.

I disclaim a magazine base, fire-pot, and grate, so constructed and hearing such relative proportions to each other as will insure the burning of coal in thin layers, or in the form of a truncated cone, contracting gradually from the ring surrounding the grate, to the base of the magazine.

By means of my device or arrangement of the several parts, I compel the coal, as it descends into the fire-chamber, to form 'a deep column from the grate to the base of the magazine, not cone-form, but simply accommodated to the necessarily increased area of the fire-chamber beyond the diameter of the magazine.

I disclaim the diving and exit fines at the base, except as arranged and combined in the foregoing specification.

Also, the cogs for producing rotary motion, except as combined with iny new and useful devices.

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An alternating, and a combined rotary and alternating base-buruer magazine.

2. The cogs F and adjustable lever H and fulovum-pin, in combination with a rotary and alternating magazine. 7

3. suspending a rotary and altcrnatin g magazine on friction-rollers, or their equivalent, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A magazine, made wholly or in 'part of vertical sections or staves, each stave having an overlapping joint, curved, so that when brought together, the overlap forms a hollow tube.

5. A double-walled fire-chamber, independent of the casing, having a free circulation of air between the rings, the inner ring perforated and loosely joined, in combination with a solid cap, open base-plate, and rotary and alternating grate, substantially as set forth, and for the purposes described.

The coke-breaker 0, fixed in position or attached to a movable lever, I, and entering the base of the magazine, substantially as described.

7 :The diving and exit lines, in combination with my double-walled iire-chamber, and rotating grate and magazine, substantially as set forth.

8. The magazine-lid W and jointed lever Y, in combination with the brackets T T, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. The grate M and lever 71, substant-iallyas set forth.

10. Constructing the magazine wholly or in part of vertical sections or staves, having tubular joints.

- 11. Constructing the grate M one ormore inches larger in. diameter than the base of the magazine, in combination with a fire-chamber, having its inner wall perpendicular or inclined inwardly, and perforated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

HENRY B. VAN BENTHUYSEN.

Witnesses N. SHAW, I. W. CHAPMAN. 

